sharing | Kristi's Morning Devotional

After a long weekend of family and friends my refrigerator is always filled with leftovers. I have this issue of preparing too much food. I never want anyone to go hungry when they are at our house. This last weekend was no different – we have leftovers!

Do you realize we have a whole industry based on leftovers. Restaurants have “to go” boxes; Rubbermaid, Tupperware, ziplocks, Pyrex all make containers to put your leftovers in. Really, so how important are they?

They were important to Jesus.

“Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and fish and handed them to his disciples to give to the people. 17 Everyone ate all they wanted. What was left over filled twelve baskets.” Luke 9:16-17 CEV

What the Father blesses and Jesus uses to meet a need is not insignificant! It’s valuable.

The Bible teaches us that God’s word is like a seed and when it’s planted in our lives it will bring a harvest, sometimes thirty, sixty and even a hundred times as much. Now that harvest may come in the form of joy, peace, wisdom, health, finances, possessions, and yes, spiritual harvest too.

Elijah asked a widowed woman to give (plant) her little bit of oil and flour to make him a cake during a time of famine. She did! The result was she never ran out of oil and flour until the famine was over.

We should always be aware that we aren’t being wasteful but we shouldn’t be miserly either.

We should be grateful for the blessings that God has given us. Make sure we aren’t taking them for granted; accept the blessing, use it but continue to value it so that you can be a blessing to others.

We can give our time, our encouragement, our knowledge of God’s word, finances, food, clothing, hospitality – all of these are blessings from the Lord.

We’re not told what happened to the twelve baskets of leftovers in the story but I’m sure that Jesus had his disciples continue to share the blessing.

Be a blessing sharer today.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary how does your garden grow?

Yesterday I was out in my garden. Needed to get some cilantro to take to our daughter. My goodness it had grown so tall! The days have been warm and the soil is moist so the conditions are perfect. In fact, I had to cut some of the tops off because they were going to seed.

This made me think about the gardens we all planted several months back. You remember the one where we planted seeds of love, joy, peace, understanding, kindness, and self-control. See I knew you would remember. I hope you have been tending your garden; making sure it has plenty of water and sunshine. Pulling out the weeds that have tried to take root.

It really has to have attention daily. I have noticed that just a couple of days of not tending to what’s planted and the weeds begin to take hold.

“We praise you, Lord God! You treat us with kindness day after day, and you rescue us. 20 You always protect us and save us from death.” Psalms 68:19-20 CEV

Day after day God treats us with kindness. We should be sharing what He brings with those around us. That’s the fun of having a harvest – we are able to share with others. In another version of the verse above it reads “blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits”. That creates a real word picture for me. I can see a wheelbarrow with vegetables that have been freshly picked from the garden, filled to the top and almost running over. Now that’s being loaded up with benefits. More than enough for me to use and plenty to share!

Giving is what God does and it’s His desire that we are givers too. It’s part of our DNA, we inherit it from our Father. There is real joy in giving. You didn’t think we planted all the seeds above just so we could enjoy the harvest by ourselves did you?

“Remember this: The one who plants few seeds will have a small harvest. But the one who plants a lot will have a big harvest. 7 Each one of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. You should not give if it makes you unhappy or if you feel forced to give. God loves those who are happy to give. 8 And God can give you more blessings than you need, and you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work. 9 As the Scriptures say, “He gives generously to the poor; his goodness will continue forever.”

10 God is the one who gives seed to those who plant, and he gives bread for food. And God will give you spiritual seed and make that seed grow. He will produce a great harvest from your goodness.” II Corinthians 9:6-10 ERV

We should always be looking for opportunities to give. God has given us the seeds and He will use what we plant to produce a great harvest. I will give what I have; a helping hand, a kind word, a shoulder to cry on, a prayer, a hug, a smile, a meal, friendship…

“Have pity on others, just as your Father has pity on you. 37 Jesus said: Don’t judge others, and God won’t judge you. Don’t be hard on others, and God won’t be hard on you. Forgive others, and God will forgive you. 38 If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated.” Luke 6:36-38 CEV

Take another look at your garden this morning. I am sure you will find that the seeds you planted are growing and some are ready to harvest. Fill your harvest basket full and then head out and find someone to share it with.